Cop cleared after pointing TASER at off-duty firefighter

The officer and firefighter argued intensely over how the situation was handled

By PoliceOne Staff

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A police officer who stopped an off-duty firefighter on his bicycle and threatened him with a TASER did not violate any regulations, according to an internal investigation by the Evansville, Ind. Police Department.

George Madison Jr., an Evansville firefighter and youth pastor, filed a formal complaint against Officer Jason Clegg following the Aug. 13 incident, part of which was caught on tape.

“I don’t want this man to lose his job or weeks of pay, but I have to look at it from the standpoint of I have a family to think about. I shouldn’t feel bad for standing up for my own rights,” he told the Courier Press.

The 10 minute video that surfaced shows the two men arguing intensely over the way the situation was handled, with Madison at one point saying “the only thing that anyone wants is to be treated like a mother f***ing human.”

The video shows the aftermath of the initial altercation, where Madison says he waved at two police officers when they turned in front of him at an intersection. The officers thought he flipped them off, according to the police report.

Madison admits he had no intention of stopping at the four way intersection, but felt intimidated by Clegg and took out his cell phone to try to call the local police officer, according to the report. Clegg asked him multiple times to put the phone away, then as he reached to take it out of his hand Madison flinched and Clegg pointed the Taser at his face.

“I remember looking down the barrel of a Taser, because [the officer] was gritting his teeth and saying, ‘Don’t make me pull this trigger,’” Madison told the Courier Press.

Once Madison revealed that he was a firefighter, the officers eased up, the report says.